


There's a Ghost in Gotham

by Trixangel103



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Danny Phantom
Genre: Animals, Doggos - Freeform, F/M, Hellhounds, M/M, No Drama, Service Dogs, more like slice of life, okay maybe some drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25064890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trixangel103/pseuds/Trixangel103
Summary: The Wayne family has new neighbors. It's the infamous Vlad Masters and his surprisingly horde of young people. It sounds just as scandalous as it should if it wasn't a known fact that Vlad Masters was captured and tortured by the government which somehow resulted in the deaths of Jack and Maddie Fenton.It's been two years, Vlad is just trying to start over in Gotham along with meddling kids and ghosts.
Relationships: Vlad Masters/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 15
Kudos: 226





	There's a Ghost in Gotham

When Vlad wakes up from a nightmare, it’s silent. Aside from the trembling and the escape of a few tears, and wide eyes, he stays absolutely still on his bed. 

_He can’t make a noise. If he does there is a consequence that he canno-_

There’s a nudge at his right side and a whine from his left. Slowly, he lifts his hands to pet the black masses at his side. He is in a mansion. On a bed with his dogs. There are no white walls, and chains in sight. 

He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales with a stronger force than necessary, and moves to get up. With an ease that Vlad likes to call grace, (and what Danny likes to call his “drunk fruitloopy walk”) he heads out to the hallway with two black bodyguards flaking his side. 

He has a sudden craving for hot chocolate. 

It isn’t until he’s sitting down facing the window with his dogs curling around his feet that he realizes it's been about 3 months since his last nightmare, and 2 years since the death of Maddy and Jack Fenton. 

He drinks the rest of his hot chocolate, and attempts to go back to sleep. 

He’s not successful. 

  
  


He waits to see the sun peeking over the horizon in his bedroom window before he gives up sleeping entirely and decides to make breakfast. His dogs lift their heads in interest, but make no move to follow him. 

Vlad is not distressed this time, and he’s grateful that at least his dogs would be able to sleep despite his inability to. 

He turns on the kitchen light to see two of the 5 cats in the mansion lazing around the windowsill for the early morning rays. He ties his long hair in a bun, and starts making his morning drink. 

He’s in the process of making his coffee when he feels cool air at his side. A blue haze settles into the form of the Dairy King Ghost. 

“Good morning Vlad,” the Dairy King whispers as he himself seems to conjure up a bottle of milk for his breakfast. (How he does this he is not really sure. Nevermind, the amount of research that states that ghosts seem to run on ghost plasma and strong human feelings.) 

“Morning” he mouths with no sound coming out. He doesn’t usually talk a lot these days. It’s even worse when he has his “nightmares”. 

The Dairy King just nods in agreement and floats over a mini whiteboard and marker for him. He is grateful and peeved. (Vlad was expecting more of a quiet morning, in which he is ignored. Not one in which he must talk about his _feelings._ ) 

“Shall I call Lady Jasmine?” the Dairy King asks with sincerity in his eyes that makes Vlad want to barf. The implication of calling Jasmine because Vlad had a nightmare is ridiculous. Vlad has no loyalty (because everyone seems to favor the Fentons) and no privacy living with a ghost.

_Ghosts_. He corrects as he sees one of the cats blink in and out of visibility on the windowsill. 

_“No”_ he writes down harshly on the board. He puts that down and finishes making his coffee. 

“Are you sure?,” the Dairy King presses closer to Vlad in hopes of changing his mind. 

“ _Yes”_

“Well, I really do not think she would mind,” he smiled considerately at his bottle of milk “After all, she did say to call her if you ever feel lonely in the new house.” 

It was not a house, it was a mansion. Bigger than his old one actually, with a nice backyard for a greenhouse for Undergrowth, and a sizable library for his many books and Ghostwriter’s office, the soon to be huge tech lab, and all the rooms that would fit the ridiculous amount of people and ghosts who demand to live with him, but that was not the point. 

“ _No!”_ he underlines for emphasis, and entirely out of pettiness. He levitates the board to its place with a bit more force than necessary, scaring the two cats sunbathing on the windowsill. 

Honestly, he is a grown adult living with too many nosy ghosts (which includes the ghost animals) who cannot for the life of him think that he can live entirely by himself without his niece, nephew, or his nephew’s friends interference. 

He is fine damn it!

Stomping out of the kitchen from the coddling everyone seems to want to force on him, he stops and pauses as he sees his two dogs waiting patiently by their bowls for their food. Sighing, he walks back to the pantry, grabs their food, flips the Dairy King off (because yes he can see that smile he is hiding in his bottle of milk), and gives them their food like the good dogs there are. 

Vlad is petty not cold-hearted. 

He comes back for his coffee later. 

* * *

Unsurprisingly, one of the first things Vlad sets up in the new mansion is the Ghost portal. It was unanimously decided that transportation of the rest of equipment from his mansion and the Fenton building would be through the ghost portal making it faster and cheaper. Thus, finishing the setup of the portal. 

It’s when he finally sets up the last part of the portal. (The on and off switch that is actually outside of the portal) He feels a bit out of breath, he tries sitting down slowly but instead collapses to his side, and feels the floor a lot closer than he initially wanted. 

He’s shaking and curling his body inwards, and fudge it’s a panic attack. Vlad is having a panic attack. 

“ _Why, Why_?” he thinks as he tries to calm down. He’s taking deep breaths, and it’s not working. 

Fuck. what was wrong with him. It’s been two years. He should be over this. He should-

Suddenly he feels two furry black dogs settle on either side of him. Shakily he reaches one hand to pet the black fur of one of them. His hand is still shaking, but his breath is finally slowing down. 

Slowly that is. 

A minute or two of this and he feels a vibrate on his wrist followed by a soft piano playing. He checks his wrist and sure enough his watch is lighting up to a call. 

Foley, it reads. 

He feels exhausted and out of breath, literally. He debates over not answering, but ignoring the call would only make him worry, which would soon turn into all of the children. (which will escalate in hysteria from Jazz and Danny, to the very concerned Sam, and to a crying Ellie.) All of which he is not ready for. 

After the third ring, he answers the call. 

“Vlad.” he rasps out hopefully masking how sore and shaky his voice is. 

“Hey Fruitloop, so I was wondering about the new lab set up, like I get the whole serious lab tech we need, but what if we add a tv and game station cuz you know how Danny likes to hover when we work and stuff cuz he is a freaky mother hen like that.” 

As Tucker rambles on about his inane idea, slowly Vlad feels his body relax, he closes his eyes and just breathes.

_In_

_Out_

“Oh OOOHH! What if we add a sofa and like some blankets. It would be like subtly telling Danny to sleep or get comfy when we are working and then he falls asleep and actually goes to sleep. Because the idiot refuses to go to sleep. Like genius am I right?”

_In_

_Out_

“Vlad?”

_He let’s go_

“That….is a stupid idea.” 

“Which part?” said Tucker who strangely sounded amused by the answer. 

“First part……..we have a projector”

“Riggghhtt, that means we don’t need the tv. Gotcha, but the sofa! Come on, sleeping Danny is necessary!” 

“Perhaps.” Vlad pauses and takes a moment to think of all the times Danny has face planted himself in the lab because he fell asleep. (it was astonishingly a lot.)

“...maybe one in the corner”

“Sweeet, Imma ask Ellie what color and style she wants,” 

Which Vlad can attest to was a smart idea. Ellie was strangely quite picky about the furniture in their new home. 

“Soo…,” Tucker continued with a few clicks on his end, probably on his keyboard looking up things, “You doing okay?” 

It took a moment for Vlad to actually realize what that question meant. Because to anyone it could be labeled a coincidence to receive a call during a panic attack. A coincidence that is if the someone that called was not a genius in hacking and had access to an unlimited amount of tools at his hand. Who would have no problem chipping him because he is loyal to the Fentons (because no one was on his side). Especially, if it was “for his own good”

“Really?” he drawled 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tucker responded with clear amusement. 

Vlad sat up from lying on the floor in annoyance from his nest of dogs. He was too old to deal with this. No seriously, he doesn’t know anyone else who has to deal with children who are either too smart or overpowered that willingly involve themselves in a 48 year old bachelor’s life. 

Vlad is really not that interesting. 

“You chipped me!” 

“Yes, but like not in the creepy in your body way,” Tucker continued clacking away on his keyboard (Seriously, what was he doing, hacking into a competitor’s mainframe?), “more like on the back of your watch deal”. 

He glanced at his smartwatch and turned it around, he didn’t see any difference, but if Tucker said he chipped him there was no reason to believe otherwise. (Tucker was very good at presentation in his products, understated and inconspicuous. Something the Fentons never seemed to understand.) 

Sighing, he closed his eyes and laid his head in his hands. He felt a burn in his eyes and a creeping headache coming on. He could already feel cold wet noses nudging him on the side. 

“Got up too quickly? Maybe you should take a rest.”, Tucker chimed in

“Argghhhh,” aggravated, Vlad laid back on the floor. He was done, so very done. “You have cameras on me too” he groaned. 

“Got it in one Fruitloop,” he said with more cheer than necessary. “ Two of them, one on each of the dog collars.” 

Vlad parted his hands to see one of his beloved dogs next to him, and sure enough there was a glint of little black circle on the dog tag. It was artistically placed underneath the crystal, and done in such a way that glancing at it would make you dismiss it as a shadow. Underhanded and subtle, Vlad would be proud if _it was not directed to him!_

“Don’t sulk, it was either that or call you every 4 hours and text updates to Jazz and Danny.” 

Vlad was not sulking. 

“That is not a compromise.” 

“Yes it is, because I don’t plan on telling them about this. So yeah man, definitely a compromise.” 

Vlad would be happy about this, but it really has been the only positive thing so far today. It takes a minute, but suddenly he hears a flurry of clicks on the other side of the call. The child is most definitely hacking into something illegal. Hopefully enough to distract him and end this call soon? 

“So I’m guessing you don’t wanna talk about it?” 

“You would be the last person I consider.” 

“Ehh, fair enough,” the clicking continued into a crescendo of noise as if chase was given. 

“You sound busy, perhaps we should end the call.” Vlad tried not to sound too hopeful at the end of that sentence. He was definitely looking forward to the end of this conversation though. 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, but don’t think this will distract me, and don’t worry I only use the cameras when your stress levels get high.” 

That does not reassure him whatsoever. 

“See ya in a week Fruitloop!” 

“Good riddance.” 

Vlad ended the call and stared at his watch in annoyance. He should probably take it off, but would the consequences benefit him in any way? Probably not. To his reluctance, he keeps the watch and finally gets up from the floor. 

He is a bit ashamed of himself. Collapsing on the floor, wallowing in despair only to be outmaneuvered by a group of children. 

He has become so pathetic it hurts. 

He crouches down to pet his dogs. His two dogs who are literally the only ones that will listen to him and not invade his life in ridiculous and dramatic ways. He appreciates their comfort and continues to pet them.

They resembled doberman dogs, tall, massive, and reaching to his hip. In reality, they were experimented on at the exact same time Vlad was. Ectoplasm running through their veins and their eyes turned into an eerie blood red when provoked. Hellhounds. His companions that stood by his side for two years are hellhounds. Too dangerous to be released in the public, and too alive to go into the ghost zone. (Which could be said for all the animals roaming around the mansion.) And yet, so very gentle and cuddly, especially now as they relish their owners petting.

“I suppose this whole ordeal calls for a treat.” Dog treats for the dogs and hot chocolate for him. Glancing down at the dog collars and looks away in disgust. “New dog tags would be nice as well.” he notes to himself. 

The smartwatch he can compromise, but cameras are where he draws the lines. (He doesn’t like to be watched.)

He gets up and stares at the unfinished lab. There is still so much to do, but he is most definitely done for the day. That and the white walls are giving him a headache. He feels a soft bite at his left hand, and looks down to see his dogs staring at him in earnest. 

“I am fine Jacque.” he feels a lick on his right palm in response, “ Really, Jacque and Madeline, I am fine.”

_He’s not_

_But one day he will be._

**Author's Note:**

> So I have always loved the concept of Danny phantom, and I have had this idea of a crossover for a while. I am going to try to update, but I honestly make no promises. 
> 
> I am sorry if the story isn't as straight forward it literally take a jump into it. 
> 
> If you have any questions/criticisms please comment, I do appreciate it and I am usually good at responding. Have a good day and stay safe!


End file.
